The Minor Pentatonic Scale
So far all of the piano parts you have learned have been based on chords and arpeggios. This is important because chords form the harmonic foundation of music. However, there are many parts based on scales instead of chords. A particularly useful scale is the minor pentatonic scale which is shown here in the key of A minor. This scale is used for many bass lines as well as being commonly used for soloing and improvisation. Whereas the major and natural minor scales contain seven different notes, pentatonic scales contain only five. The minor pentatonic scale can be thought of as a natural minor scale with the second and sixth degrees left out. The notes of the A minor pentatonic scale are A C D E and G.
Riffs
The following example shows how the A minor pentatonic scale can be used over a chord progression in the key of A minor. The repeated pattern of notes is called a riff. Riffs are common in many styles of music.
Here is another example of a riff created from the minor pentatonic scale. This time the right hand plays a line which answers the left hand riff and then plays the riff along with the left hand.
Here are some more piano parts created from the minor pentatonic scale.
This example contains a pattern where three notes of the A minor pentatonic scale are played by each hand in contrary motion. Try experimenting with other similar patterns. Notice that both parts are written in the treble staff for this example.
The following left hand pattern is great for improvising over. Practice the left hand by itself, then try playing some chords or pentatonic scale lines over it with the right hand as shown here.
